Kith & Kin
by hikari yuuko
Summary: SasuSaku. Post-manga. Slightly AU. A story about Sasuke, Sakura, their son, and the bonds that hold them together. : Second chapter up! Uncle Naruto arrives on scene. 2/3
1. Sasuke: Bonds

**Kith & Kin  
**_by _Adriana S_ (hikari yuuko)  
__July 26__th__, 2006 to April 10__th__, 2008_

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_Part I: _**Bonds**

* * *

It was raining. The forest was filled with the sounds of small animals hurrying to their homes and leaves swaying as gushes of wind rushed through the trees' branches. The ground was covered in mud and wet, fallen leaves the color of antique gold. It was a light downpour considering the season. Still, it was strong enough so that the sky had turned a shade of murky grey and that the sun was nowhere to be seen behind a number of cumulus clouds that in any seconds could turn into storm clouds.

Sasuke watched all of this with observant, dark obsidian orbs under the small rooftop of his backside porch. Not everyone could say that they had an entire forest for a backyard, yet there he was, admiring the racket that a simple rain could cause. The man wasn't completely safe from getting wet as the wind teased him every once in a while. His hair was already damp and his clothes should have been changed if he didn't want to fall sick; but there were other things in his mind. The frown on his young, handsome face almost looked like it would leave a mark engraved in his features if it persisted any longer. It was so deep and dark that it was intimidating by itself. That was not to say about the intense glare his dark eyes were throwing at nothing in particular, but most likely at whatever he was thinking about. Clearly, it wasn't a good moment to approach him.

Nothing but the sound of the water pouring down from the sky and hitting the floor enveloped the air. That is, until his ears perceived the faintest traces of an unfamiliar… noise. It was not something Sasuke was used to hear, to say the least. He could identify the noise as a sob, or more like a succession of sobs, and when he realized this, he scrunched his nose up. Someone was crying, somewhere nearby.

He followed the sound almost by instinct. It didn't take him much to reach the source of the sound. He just took a few turns across the hallways of the manor until he found himself on another of the porches with view to the backyard. There, the Uchiha found a small person curled against one of the corners. A small boy, five or six years old at the most, with hair as black raven as his own. He was clutching his knees with one of his short arms and hastily pushing away his tears with the back of his other hand, almost as if that prominent salty liquid stung him. The sobbing had subdued into a softer weeping sound, not wails like it would be expected of a child his age, but the tears kept flowing aplenty. He had doubled himself so his face was hidden between his knees.

Sasuke moved forward, standing barely two feet before the sobbing wreck that was this boy. He looked down at him then, eyes sharp. "What are you doing here?"

"Uuuh… uuuh…" The boy looked up, for the first time sensing and acknowledging the other presence, but unable to control the crying. If anything, the need to do so grew in intensity at the sight of Sasuke.

"You are crying." The statement slipped from the older man's mouth with harsh disapproval evident in his tone even before he realized how particularly foolish it seemed to affirm something as obvious.

"Uuuh…" His younger companion was incapable to reply, his eyes falling to the wooden planks of the floor. His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, having been caught like this.

He gazed at the boy with a critical stare and furrowed eyebrows. It was almost as if he was trying to examine him and decipher some kind of secret that the child hid. "Why?"

"Uuuh…" The little boy gulped and managed to look up at him once again, lips quivering before answering, "'Kaa… 'kaachan." The stuttering didn't go unnoticed; it was probably due to having been crying for a while now that his voice sounded so raspy and tired as well. "'Kaachan got hurt… My fault…"

"Sakura will be fine," he stated flatly, arms crossing over his chest. He was stiff and his figure sent shadows that towered over the crouched boy. "Now stand up and stop crying."

"But… but… 'Kaachan…" In his mortification, the young one's eyes fluttered about in an attempt to avert them from the man. He clutched his knees more tightly, though now he'd completely forgotten to wipe the tears that continued to drip down his cheeks and stain his little, round face further. "She got hurt because of me! Again!"

There was a pause of silence and the boy chose to stare at his legs, unsettled by the hard stare he was receiving in exchange. An _'It wasn't your fault'_ was in order, but Sasuke couldn't let the words out from his mind.

"Stop crying." It was a command that came from his mouth instead and his tone came even harsher than he had truly intended. Then he added, critically, "Your mother _knew_ what she was doing."

The boy immediately looked up at him, eyes wide with shock and hurt. "But… Tousan!" He shrieked, his lips puckering and a frown settling on his childish features, the perfect imitation of his father before him plus the bewildered look. "Aren't… aren't you worried about 'Kaachan? She could lose… she could lose…"

Sasuke stood rigidly, jaw tight, tilting his chin with indifference. No other words ever left his mouth to console him. He was secretly struggling with an inner battle, but on the outside and to the eyes of his child, he looked like the epitome of apathy.

Quickly infuriated at his father's unresponsiveness and not longer able to hold the smoldering gaze on him, the boy looked away once again, still hiccupping and fighting to control the tears. His cheeks were still flushed, both from crying and now from the anger rising within him. He'd inherited much of his father's temper, making him calm and collected when needed; but sometimes he snapped all too suddenly and threw a number of tantrums that were even more vehement than those of kids' his age. Fortunately, there was also much in him from his mother's personality, which helped him to be a lot more open and childish than what his father had been at that age. At the moment, he was torn between his resentment toward his father and the concern for his wounded mother.

Shiro had been surprised. His father had always been stern with him, but this was not like him. The 'Tousan' he knew was strict but kind, and would even joke from time to time (to tease his uncle or answer back a joke from his blond-haired friend). He'd never thought he'd be so unconcerned when his mother was this hurt. Didn't he… didn't he…

"Don't you love 'Kaachan?" he wondered in the softest of voices, a mumble that the older man was only able to catch thanks to his keen hearing. The sullenness in his question was evident. "You are so mean!"

"Are you done, kid?" Sasuke's tone seemed to be reprimanding, but otherwise he didn't show any other sign of annoyance or irritation. The Uchiha simply stared down at the boy that had been succeeding in his fight against the display of emotion that his father condemned so much.

Had his wife been there, she would have certainly said something to reprove of Sasuke's behavior. But that was exactly it, Sakura wasn't there to gently tug at his elbow and tell him in a hurried whisper not to be so harsh to their child. She was asleep in their bedroom, for a third day, as she healed from a recent attack she had suffered at the hand of missing-nins that were former shinobi of Rain. That very fact had had his head spinning and spinning for two nights in a row with disturbing thoughts about what could had happened had he not arrived on time. When he had found Sakura, she had been almost unconscious and curled up in a ball with their son tightly embraced in her arms. Shiro, their firstborn son, had been in shock.

The truth was that he sincerely didn't mean to seem so detached and uncaring; he just didn't know how to manage the jumble of emotions corrupting his mind at the moment. It wasn't as easy as when she was with him. He simply didn't know how to deal with this, with any of this.

But there was no way the boy in front him could know it. Thus, when he stood from his crouched position on the floor and looked up at him, it struck Sasuke the way his midnight blue eyes had darkened in the one of the most intense and powerful of glares. The glare was so hard to the point that Sasuke could have sworn seeing red in those eyes for a fleeting second. And amidst the glare, the tears began pooling one more time. He had never looked so much alike to his mother until that very second, despite being almost a complete physical replica of his father.

"I hate you!" The sharp, dark blue eyes were boring holes into him. It almost made him shudder, and that was something… "I hate you," he yelled accusingly, "Tousan!"

And then Shiro turned on his heels and began running away, quickly stepping down the steps to the wet lawn and putting as much strength into his legs as he could to run faster. He almost tumbled once into a puddle of mud, but not even that stopped him from escaping.

Sasuke remained on his spot, gulping down hard the knot in his throat as he watched Shiro running away into the depths of the woods within the Uchiha estate, his eyes unreadable. He took a step back, now staring with startled eyes at the place where Shiro had been standing as the boy's words repeated themselves in his ears one time after another. For the first time in a long while, Sasuke looked completely shocked. Before realizing it, he'd fallen onto his knees, fingers clasping the fabric of his dark slacks.

"_I hate you!"_

Something prickled his eyes, making his vision beginning to blur. Raising his hand to his face, he was taken aback when his calloused fingers met drops of water. They were warm.

It was raining. But Uchiha Sasuke was still under the roof.

---

"_I hate you!"_

Those were big words for a five-year-old. Sakura would have never accepted it, much less from her son.

"_I hate you!"_

Hate. Sasuke hadn't thought of that word in a long, long time; a success itself. Before he'd learned it from his brother Itachi, the word 'hate' had never even existed in his world. He'd been young and innocent and yet to be tainted by it. He didn't have a reason to think of it or speak it.

"_I hate you, Tousan!"_

Or maybe he had… Hadn't he sputtered those blasted words once at his father, just like his son did now?

"_I hate you, Tousan!!"_

Aa, he did.

He'd spoken the words out of instinct, not really meaning them, but rather than that, wanting to provoke the then alive Uchiha patriarch. Something, some reaction, anything; but the man wasn't fazed. He had been even younger at the time than what his son was now. He remembered his father's eyes from that moment. The blazing, unwavering eyes of his father were something he would never forget, no matter how the rest of his face blurred along the years.

"_When we are alone, your father always talks about you." _Mikoto had confessed once when she gently tended to his wounds, her fingers caressing his cheeks. Her touch had been gentle and cool.

But he'd thought his mother's words had only been spoken to sooth and calm him down, to make him forget about the cold treatment he was getting from his father while his brother was showered with recognition and attention. She had been right all along, but how was he to know?

"_Well done,"_ Fugaku's ruff voice rang in his ears as another memory slipped into his mind. He remembered how his eyes got round with surprise and disbelief, but his father was really complimenting his hard work. His father's face had wrinkled somewhat as he tried to smile. _"As expected of my child."_

He'd just wanted some kind of praise from him, just once… something to show him that his father acknowledged him as his son. And when he'd gotten it at last, it was already late. Not too long after that, his brother had annihilated the whole clan, created a bath of blood within the Estate of their renowned clan, and left him with only his life and the word revenge engraved in his soul.

"_Hate me more and more."_ Itachi had told him, that time when he'd been given one last gift to his younger brother: a new feeling that made hearts clench and even the purest of souls rot. That feeling had corrupted him and obsessed him, had blinded him and guided him into darkness, had haunted his nights and disrupted his peace of mind, had turned him into a traitor to his own, and had almost made lose everything he had in the process.

Then, there was once when they met a few years after his parents' assassination, the Uchiha slaughterer had mocked him for not having enough of it, even when Sasuke had been already consumed with anger and pain and loss. _"You don't have enough hatred."_

That word triggered far too many memories, most of them unpleasant. But more than anything, knowing that it had been his son who had spat it at him caused him to be all the more upset.

He held a grip on himself, fingers rubbing angrily the corner of his eyes, and stood.

* * *

_Five years earlier…_

He remembered pacing up and down the hall for more hours he could count until Shizune had exited the main bedroom, looking weary, and granted him permission to get inside at last. He'd almost thrown a fit, a full-blown tantrum actually, when he'd been first forced to leave the labor room as the medic-nin argued that he was breaking everybody's concentration and that he was only burdening the already stressed out Sakura. In other words, he was being a hassle.

He went past the older, dark-haired woman while blurting out a "Thanks" and rushed to his wife's side, sitting on the chair set just next to her. She was on the bed, sitting against the wooden headboard and looking tired but healthy as a rosy blush spread over her cheeks. In her arms, she carefully held the bundle of blankets in which their newborn son or daughter was wrapped with. His heart thumping against his chest, he reached over and kissed her forehead before looking down at the baby. It was only then that he noticed that…

It was a boy!

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura's voice was laced with heavy sleep and seemingly never-ending happiness. Her eyes shone brightly and her smile was more beautiful than he remembered. "Please meet our son, Uchiha Shiro." Then she looked down at the sleeping infant. "Shiro-chan," she whispered lovingly, "this is your daddy."

It struck Sasuke how much love could be put into a few, simply words. But he was even more astounded when Sakura moved so she could place the newborn in his arms. The baby was so small that he was afraid to hurt him when he carried him. There was a small tuff of characteristic dark hair atop his head and his skin was milky white. His cheeks were flushed like his mother's and his lips were puckered up even when in deep sleep. The tiny fingers, five of them in each hand, were clutched into fists.

Sasuke almost jumped in surprise when those same fingers curled tightly around his thumb. Watching him from bed, Sakura stifled her giggles with a hand over her mouth. He barely registered turning his gaze from the sleeping infant to the new mother and watching her with the most dumbfounded of looks. She almost laughed out loud this time as the dark-haired man stared down at the baby, completely clueless.

The baby was so small, but the grip on his finger was very strong. To Sasuke, it was almost as if he was the one being held.

"Sakura…" he looked up at her hours later as the baby now slept in his arms and he sat on the chair beside her bed. "Thank you."

Sakura sighed, setting her head against her pillow. "I love you too, Sasuke."

---

_A few months ago…_

There was a 'tap, tap, tap, tap' sound of small feet coming closer, each time the sound getting stronger. The raven-haired boy came running toward the porch, where his father was sitting on the steps that faced the lawn. His father, Uchiha Sasuke, was deep into his reading, a thick folder with papers the child presumed to be mission briefings or something alike. When his father was not out on missions, he was doing paperwork and going through many files.

He came to a halt, bending over his stomach as he panted for air once before straightening himself up and plastering a grin on his childish face. "Tousan!" he called, he seemed utterly proud and his voice denoted so. "Tousan! I got a prize from Nara-sensei! See? I won first place!"

Sasuke turned his head, eyes moving from the child's excited face to his hand and then to the paper diploma and a set of shiny shuriken he was holding. He nodded in approval before turning back to his work; he pushed the reading glasses up the bridge of his nose and frowned.

"Well done, Shiro…" He hadn't even looked at him as he congratulated him; instead his eyes were intent on the rather extensive report he'd been given at the Hokage's office. The tea, now cold, and several treats his wife had left for him remained untouched on the tray beside him.

Shiro gulped, staring at his father quietly before bowing down in respect. "Th…thank you, Tousan." He turned around and ran to his room without any other word.

Sakura watched the event unfurl with a worried frown from around the corner of the hall. Sasuke hadn't even noticed how the boy's voice had wavered when he saluted him nor noticed how quickly he had dashed away to his room.

Later that night in their bedroom, she had broached into the topic very subtly. She had noticed things like this before, but it had never worried her until now. She knew Sasuke was a good father, but she also knew how hard it was for him to show his feelings openly. Even so, if she had to beat her husband's ass to make him understand how important this was for their child, she would do it without any doubt.

"Sasuke, you should try to talk more with Shiro-chan," Sakura began as she stripped out of her clothes and changed into her silky nightgown. She seemed stressed over the matter.

"I talk with my son," was the blatant reply from Sasuke, who was already in bed, reading a book under the dim light of the lamp on his nightstand.

The young woman settled herself on the bed beside him, pulling the covers so she could rest under them. For a moment, she hesitated and she ran her gaze around their bedroom, looking for something to fix her worried, green eyes on. "Yes, but," she strayed, obviously at loss for appropriate words.

He glanced at her and sighed, an unusual feat of tiredness in him that only she would witness. He knew what she was trying to say, he wasn't a fool.

Sasuke left the leather-bound book on the nightstand and turned the light off, leaving the room in darkness. He pulled the bed sheets over his body, just below the waist, and shifted against his pillow until he was comfortable. Moving closer to his beloved, he quietly wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on the hollow place between her neck and her shoulder. Sakura sighed against him.

Sasuke's eyes fixed themselves at the satin pink strands of hair of his wife. He loved this woman more than she knew, so much more that he couldn't really begin to explain it. It had been long ago since she had etched herself in the depths of his heart, almost unnoticed to himself until one day the realization of his true feelings for her hit him square in the face. Sakura had taught him how to feel again. And then, she had given him the greatest of gifts: a life without nightmares and the joy of a child from his own flesh and bones.

"Sasuke, I know you. I know this is how you are and I love you," she said as she snuggled close to him. "But he's barely five years old… Sometimes you just have to _tell _him that you care about him." Sakura waited as his grip around her got tighter, but he didn't say anything back. She merely smiled in understanding and closed her eyes. "You'll be able to do it, I'm sure you will."

Sasuke reviewed her words as she fell asleep and he tried to follow her example. He knew well that he had never been good with emotions and she was the one who would single-handedly understand what he was feeling and then make _him_ understand.

When he was young he'd believed that one single word of praise was all that he needed, even a half-hearted one. He'd just been expecting one word of pride from the honorable Uchiha Patriach, from his father; but maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe he'd thought that making his father proud _would be_ enough and he'd been wrong all along. What mattered weren't praises, but affection. Unfortunately, 'affection' wasn't a word in his vocabulary until not so long ago. He'd been missing many things in his life.

Was he really doing the same thing Uchiha Fugaku did to him when he was young? Was he really following the footsteps of the skilled shinobi he admired so much but at the same time feared to disappoint? Of the father he'd wanted so much to be acknowledged by? Was he hurting his own child without knowing it?

Now he had those things, things like love and friendship and kindness and happiness in his life. Shiro was the proof of what he'd accomplished. Their son was the living proof that, even someone like Sasuke, who was stained and haunted, could redeem himself and help create something so pure out of love. That was better than any praise. All he had to do was show that to his son.

Would he be able to do it?

Sasuke closed his eyelids shut and waited for sleep to come to him. His wife snuggled closer, still lost in the land of dreams, as he let out one final sigh of frustration before drifting off.

* * *

_Present time…_

He ran through the woods in a desperate frenzy, moving as fast as his feet allowed him to and pumping as much chakra as he could into them to gain even more speed. In one hand, his blade Kusanagi helped him cut through. He clenched the other hand at his side and gritted his teeth…

Not once in his life had this forest seemed so long and intricate like it was this very moment. It was not that these woods were that wide, but the thick branches and leaves created dense walls that weren't easy to pass by. Ironically, these forests were part of the Uchiha estate precisely because of that unique quality. But his head was full of panic and those 'damned branches' only slowed him down.

What was worse was that the Uchiha woods were actually connected with the rest of Konoha's forests at one point. Right now, that particular thought wasn't helping him concentrate properly… Furthermore, as to be expected, he couldn't even feel the kid's chakra (if he had been paying more attention, he would have noticed the faint pulse of green chakra hiding within the forest). His mother had taught him well… maybe too well.

It wouldn't take too long before the night fell, either. But he didn't stop; he _had_ to find his son.

They had already been close to losing him once… It happened once when rage had taken over him one more time, once when Orochimaru had reappeared to make a mess out of their lives. That had actually been the time when he'd used the sealed curse one last time and when the Snake Sannin from Sound had breathed his last, truly.

His former master had almost succeeded in his last attempt at taking over Konoha. Most of the village's shinobi and kunoichi weren't strong enough against his seal-aided army. Orochimaru had also made sure that most of Konoha's strongest assets were all out on different missions, himself and Naruto included as they'd been escorting the Godaime Hokage from Suna. By the time they had reached Konoha it had almost been too late. And while Kakashi engaged Kabuto in battle, Orochimaru (in an all too new vessel) had taken upon himself to hurt Uchiha Sakura, the village's strongest medic-nin, while she was trying to protect her and Sasuke's two-year-old.

He'd cheated in the ways only a man of his kind could, trying to hit him in his weakest point, but the opposite result had hurled back at him. Indeed, the Snake Sannin's plans would have been perfect if not for that one detail. He had made the mistake of nearly killing Sakura, who would have bled to death if Tsunade hadn't arrived on time, and taking away their kid in the process. He'd meddled with Uchiha Sasuke's loved ones and that was enough to drive Sasuke to the ends of his strength in order to overthrow his former mentor.

That time, with both at his side, the woman he loved and his old rival and best friend, he'd saved his son and defeated Orochimaru once and for all. The battle had lasted for many days and nights and caused the shedding of much blood, sweat, and plenty of tears from the inhabitants of their village. But they had fought hard and bravely, like true shinobi, and it had been worth it. There were scars on the three of them to prove it; scars that, though faded on their skins with time, would engrave themselves in their bodies and their memories.

He'd cried for the entire five days the boy had been unconscious after the rescue. Sakura, herself healing from her wounds at that time, had remained silently beside him as he kept vigil over the child. When the kid woke up, he'd sworn on his pride and his honor never to leave him alone. He'd never leave him, or Sakura for the matter, unprotected.

He would keep his promise…

---

At last he came to a halt, breathing raggedly. The rain had stopped somewhere around the time when he was running after Shiro. His clothes were soaked and his feet muddy; there were no doubts that his sandals were ruined, but he couldn't care less about them. The sweat mixed with the rain that had dampened his hair and trickled down to his brow as his eyes scanned the area.

Shifting his eyes around the place, he immediately felt a sense of recognition. He hadn't noticed that he'd been rushing down this path, the same he had taken every morning to train when he was a mere child himself. He walked to the nearest tree and ran his finger over its bark. It was rough under his touch, worn down by many years, but tall and proud. He could still feel the places where it had become thinner, where he'd burnt it with half-assed techniques that had improved over time. These trees were old, had been there way before he'd been born and probably after he died.

When he caught the sound of rustling leaves nearby, Sasuke narrowed his obsidian eyes and then they turned a bloodshot red; his pupils metamorphosing into swirling commas. The Sharingan wielder noticed it as soon as his bloodline technique had activated, enhancing all of his senses: there it was, the small figure enveloped by a faint trace of chakra, suppressed chakra. If this were a battle, it would have been either that the ninja had too little chakra left and was trying to prevent from being completely drained or that he excelled at hiding his chakra. He didn't think of it these possibilities.

What mattered was that he had found his son at last.

His feet were moving before he knew it. He was surprised when he got closer to the place, as he found himself standing just in between a circle of old trees. This place was where he used to practice on his targets from dawn 'till night fell. Arriving at his childhood training spot brought a wave of memories of himself – much, much younger, less scarred, and a different light upon his eyes – being surrounded by giants. He stared at his surroundings; each tree had so many markings it was impossible to count them and the old red and white circle target tablets made of wood were worn out by time and the weather. But what had surprised him more than anything was the set of kunai perfectly embedded on them with incredible accuracy.

And then, sitting against one of the trees and hugging his knees, there was Uchiha Shiro.

---

The man stood before the huddled boy.

Shiro immediately sensed his father, even as he was approaching, but made no move to run away this time. Rather, he simply remained there with his arms wrapped around his legs and his face hiding against his knees. And he waited. He felt his throat dry and his eyes prickled with unshed tears.

"Tou-san," he muttered, as if guilty, but still not daring to look up at the man whom he admired so deeply. He couldn't bear to look up to find disdain in his father's eyes for being weak; it would be the last thing he ever wanted. It was just that he was upset about Kaa-chan… and he was so sorry.

"Hn."

Sasuke had grunted, a noise so typical of him that it'd become a normal thing, startling the young dark blue-eyed boy. He didn't distinguish whether the sound had been made to imply acknowledgement or if it was purely annoyance. The only person that could really pin-point what those noncommittal noises meant was his mother, and even some rare times she missed.

"I'm sorry, Tousan, I didn't mean it…" He opened his eyes, which he'd closed tight shut in attempt to prevent further crying. His gaze flew up, seeing but not really, for his father's expression was covered by the trees shadows and everything looked blurry. "I… I'm sorry! Sorry! I'm…"

Uchiha Sasuke took a step forward.

His firstborn stopped apologizing altogether and shock became apparent in his features. Standing in front of him was his father, the respectable leader of the Uchiha clan and skilled shinobi, an ANBU even, of Konoha, and there were tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks. He didn't remember ever seeing before any sort of emotion as clearly written on his face like this time.

"Tousan?" he wondered worriedly in between his own, renewed sobs. Shiro had tried his best not to break into a fit of cries, but now they wouldn't stop even if he tried to push back the tears or if he bit his lower lip enough to make it bleed. It was too overwhelming for the small child.

Sasuke lowered to his knees; and before the boy could react or even protest, he'd been enveloped in his embrace.

"Never do that again!" Sasuke scolded, voice harsh but nearly heart-breaking. The little one stiffened in his father's hold for a second, listening intently. "What will I tell your mother if something happened to you?!"

Despite he was reprimanding Shiro angrily, Sasuke was beyond relief. The beating of his heart slowly settled as he pressed the child's head against his chest. The little boy leaned against his father's body, like he'd done so many times when he was even younger, ears intent on the steady _'thump, thump, thump'_ he was able to hear and that had fallen from wild to a soft, lulling pace.

"Tousan…"

The older man's voice dropped into a soft, tired tone. "What would I do?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly; though still a bit hesitant, he was speaking honestly. His voice also came out a little muffled by the dark blue shirt of his father. He regretted yelling at his Tousan despite the anger he'd felt, because he was still his Tousan, after all; he regretted running off like that, because he'd been scared until he recognized the Uchiha signature aura coming close. "I'm sorry, Tousan."

"Listen, brat," Sasuke gruffed out, demanding attention. His tone was that of mild annoyance, but actually he was more embarrassed than anything. He opened his mouth and failed to say something once and then twice. Shutting close his eyes and gulping down an inexistent knot in his throat, he tried speaking one more time. "I love you and your mother… more than anything… in this world…. When I knew you were attacked and I wasn't there to protect you… I… I… just…"

Sasuke stopped speaking, not one to be known for his fluency with caring words. It had taken much effort to crush his ego to be able to say what he had. He cursed silently at his inability to express what his heart was practically screaming at him.

Shiro pushed himself away from his father's arms and looked up at him, however still in a loose embrace. A smile crept up to his lips as his father turned down to look back. "It's okay, I understand," he told him, with a maturity beyond his age, and did his best not to cry again.

To his surprise, Sasuke realized that not only did he look like his mother once again, he even _sounded _like her. He could see so much of Sakura in the way he spoke, he looked, he acted, that it would be stupid to say he wasn't his mother's child. That smile on Shiro's face could only be hers.

Suddenly, little fingers were touching his cheeks, rubbing away the traces of tears across his cheeks and wiping away the ones still pooling in his eyes. Uchiha Shiro knew how much his father hated to cry. He'd seen him cry only once and he'd been too small to understand the reason behind it. He'd never mustered the courage to ask.

"Let's go back to check up on Kaa-chan, alright?" Shiro's voice was still tiny, but nearly as determined as Sasuke sounded when he was in battle. This kid had too much of his parents for his own good. Then, he threw at his father an almost dashing smile, "I want us to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up."

Sasuke felt himself nodding, a smile of his own finally breaking completely the stony façade he had tried to keep not so successfully even when he had been crying minutes earlier. He stood up, quickly brushed his dirty clothes, and then helped his son to his feet. The hand that he had offered to help Shiro to stand up remained carefully wrapped around the boy's hand.

Shiro smiled brightly at him again and Sasuke took it as a cue to start walking; the young Uchiha trailed behind him, holding tight onto his father's larger hand.

"We have to hurry up. Sakura is waiting."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto-sensei. I only own the plot, if any, and Shiro.

**Notes: **

Firstly, thanks if you've reached this point. I hoped you liked it, as I worked really hard on this one even if it is a little all over the place. If you notice that starting date, you'll see that I began this almost TWO years ago, and that was because it begun merely as a 300-word draft and grew up into this as I came and went, editing here, writing there, until it took this form.

This is going to be a two or three-part, this one that is more from Sasuke's perspective and the other from Naruto's, though set in a different time as to let it flow. The prominent characters are Sasuke and Sasuke's son and the latter's stories involving his parents as he grows up. The "thing Sakura could lose" shall be discovered in that second part, too, I hope! As of now, I'm juggling between the second and a third part from Sakura's perspective, but that may take a long while to be written given personal issues (time, school, the normal drill). It might be a bit plotless, but I just wanted to describe a series of events in their lives.

Also, at the time I first wrote this, the Orochimaru-thingie wasn't over yet. So... I'll ignore that and hope you don't mind if I ask you to do so as well.

At first, I wasn't too content with having to put "x years earlier" on the flashbacks, but I realized that I skip a lot in time. Despite my clues about the timeline (ages, mostly), I know most people won't be making mental counts, so… My fault for liking the time skips…

In this story, Shiro is a little over 5 – and 2 and just 5 years on the flashbacks.

Why Shiro? To be honest, as I was looking for a suitable name, 'Shiro' just popped into my head. At first, it was just because I remembered Hitsugaya Toushirou from BLEACH, and subsequently, another character called Ukitake Juushiro (both of whom possess characteristic white hair). Plus, Shiro-chan sounded cute. I was going to dismiss the idea, but then I started thinking that since 'shiro' meant 'white' as far as I know (the color is called shiroi) it would be a contrast in the dark past of the Uchiha. White is viewed as a symbol of purity in my culture too, so while Sasuke is marked with the massacre of the Uchiha, his son is untainted. I have yet to decide what goes before the 'Shiro', for it can change the meaning of the name altogether; but I think that only a nickname is okay for a five-year-old for now. Still, suggestions are well received!

And, good grief, this note is so long… Sorry! But please, remember to review if you liked before leaving!


	2. Naruto: Practical Jokes

**Kith & Kin  
**_by _Adriana S_ (hikari yuuko)  
__May 19th__ 2009_

_Part II: _**Practical Jokes**

* * *

The day was bright and with clear blue skies, this was the perfect day, the kind of day he enjoyed the most. It came with his sunny disposition, he supposed, that he liked the sound of the breeze going through the trees, of the leaves rustling on the forest floor; he also liked watching the birds chirping happily and feeding their chicks and the squirrels jumping from branch to branch. He could sense the other little animals scurrying about and the stream running freely on the other side of the road.

It was then that the path on the forest seemed grow even wider, trees growing slightly more apart to give space to the visitors. The main house finally came to his line of sight, grand doors opened in welcoming.

He stepped into the Uchiha main house through the newly painted threshold. He'd been few times at the estate when he was young, but these grounds that had once seemed so eerily dark and lonely to him, now felt like they were a different place altogether. It was still quiet and not so many people lived in it, three (eventually-to-be four) in fact, but there was an air of calm and peace about it that hadn't been there in a long while. In time, Sasuke was going to surely bring back those glorious days of the Uchiha.

He played with the jingling bells that hung from the front porch to indicate his arrival; soon two pair of steps were heard coming his way. One was clearly running for there was a quick succession of 'tap, tap, tap' that evidenced it. The other person's steps were calm and precise like a clock. For him, it was easy to match a face to each set of paces.

"Naruto-jiichan! Naruto-jiichan! Welcome!" the boy grinned, his toothless smile was infectious as he ran up to the entrance porch, little arms reaching up at him.

"Up you go!" Naruto laughed as he raised the boy. He raised him up and down, gaining him more than a few chuckles from the four-year-old.

"Put my son down, dobe. I don't want him to suffer any head injuries if you happen to drop him." There was an edge of threat on the other man's voice. It warned of imminent danger.

Naruto looked around and found Sasuke's bland stare on him. The guy was wearing his casual clothes, no training gear on (at least visible to the eye, because he's sure as hell there are some kunai hidden somewhere, as one can never be too precautious), which made Naruto smirk. Sasuke had turned into the ideal of a family man and it was everything a blood-thirsty avenger wasn't supposed to be.

"Aw, come one, teme. Like I would do the same thing you did…" he muttered out loud, putting the child back on his feet and smoothing the wrinkles on his clothes.

"What?!" Sasuke turned to him, face red, either of embarrassment or anger, or possibly both. He fumbled for something to say, managing only to shout: "Shut up, I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Tousan dropped me?" A tiny voice interjected curiously and both men turned to look down at Shiro, who was by now looking up at his father with a mildly hurt look. Those incredibly dark blue eyes were beginning to well up in tears. "Why?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "I… I said I didn't do it on purpose!" He was blushing more than his son had ever seen him before, except when he got drunk that time with Naruto-jiichan. "And it was his fault!" he then added, pointing accusatorily at his former teammate.

Naruto crouched down to be eye level with the child. "Don't listen to him, Shiro-chan. I can clearly remember that time. It was the first time your 'Kaachan let the teme… I mean, your father, in charge of taking care of you all on his own! He was always a disaster when it came to change your diapers; imagine the great distress that came upon him having to do it for a week!"

The boy frowned much like his father usually did, a tinge of embarrassment on his pale cheeks. "I don't use diapers anymore, Jiichan!"

"I know you don't, Shiro-chan," he tousled his mess of black hair. The pout on the child's face was irresistible; it made Naruto smile and Sasuke smirk involuntarily, as it reminded them much of the woman that had bore him into the world. "You're a big boy now. But you were veeery little back then."

"And he moved a lot," Sasuke added helpfully in a mutter as he leaned against the nearest wooden pillar of the porch, looking away. A blush much the same as the one his child was sporting was still evident, but he allowed the story to go on.

"So your 'tousan over there was a bit clumsy with babies, you see," Naruto pointed back at his squirming friend. The blond ninja was enjoying this very much. "It was three and a half years ago…"

---

Sasuke frowned, watching the crying baby wail, and wail, and wail, and wail nonstop. His cute little eyes were swollen and red, and his face was a mess, with tears and, ew, other ugly fluids running down his nose. He scrunched up his nose in distaste. He'd never seen a child cry this much. Worst of all, it was starting to get on his nerves because he was now feeling rather helpless.

He had tried everything: feeding him his bottle of warm milk, helping him release trapped air in his chest by patting his back softly, soothing him down with gentle cooing (which, by the way, was great hit to his ego), trying to distract him with hand puppets (again, poor ego)... Nothing seemed to work… Except…

Oh hell.

_"Check if he needs to get his diapers changed, ok?" Sakura had smiled at the uncomfortable look on his face. She was witness to how much he particularly disliked said task; he'd been the kind to avoid it and let her take care of the diaper changing most of the times. "You remember how to do it, right?"_

_"Of course, Sakura," he told her blatantly, as if she should know better, and his arms moved to receive the infant child. The baby was sleeping now; Sakura had taken care of bathing him before leaving on her first mission since her pregnancy._

_"Well then, if you remember this and everything else I just told you, you'll be fine." She pecked him on the cheek and then turned to the child in his arms. "I'll be home soon, sweetie. Take care of your Touchan."_

He frowned further, hands on his waist.

"Shiro," he said forcefully, and the baby momentarily stopped his wailing to blink up at him with round, blue eyes, hiccupping a bit. "I'm going to check your diaper."

After taking a peek, he decided that he would definitely need to change it. And, nodding to himself, took upon this (nasty) mission. He'd gotten as far as wiping clean the baby and putting on a bit of powder, and was about to fasten the new diaper, when a loud crash informed him of an intruder inside the house.

With senses now alerted by the sounds, he looked back at the baby, who was quietly staring back at him and pursuing his mouth, and then back at the door. He hastily snapped the fasteners on place, laid the baby on the bed with a pillow next to him to avoid him from falling (the pillow wasn't so tall, but surely, he couldn't move that much), and ran to the living room as fast as though the devil was running after him. Typical Sasuke-like.

He froze upon entering the living room and finding not an enemy intruder, but one Uzumaki Naruto, tangled up with the rug and holding a piece of what used to be his wife's favorite flower vase.

"TEME!" Naruto greeted as he looked up and met the smoldering gaze of his best friend. He began brushing up the pieces of broken ceramic stuck on his clothes and stood up, waving at him, even when he was still holding what was left of the vase.

"Naruto, you idiot, what happened here?" Sasuke growled with impatience, unconsciously letting out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't dealing with enemies… Though who could be more dangerous, an attacker or Naruto, who could ever know? Naruto could be equally house-wrecking. Sighing, Sasuke imagined how he wouldn't get the end of it when Sakura returned and found her home turned into a complete chaos.

Naruto chuckled, looking mildly apologetic. "I broke your vase, sorry." The blonde said matter-of-factly and handed him the large piece of pink ceramic. "I came over to help with Shiro-chan. Tripped when I was trying to get in…" he offered as an excuse.

_'Idiot.'_ Sasuke groaned to himself. He crossed his arms and frowned at his old rival, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was already getting late. "Hn. Aren't you supposed to be with your future wife right about now?"

"She… She knew Sakura-chan left today so she sent me over," he admitted abashedly, scratching his nose. Still, there was something that he was leaving out. Sasuke being Sasuke quickly realized this.

The Uchiha clan leader arched his perfect, dark eyebrow and smirked at the blond idiot in front of him. "You angered Hinata?" he guessed, smirk flawlessly in place, "What did you do now?"

"Uh… kinda…" Naruto mumbled, offering a grimace, but then evading the question and looking around the room for something. He paused in his search and turned to his friend, looking mildly confused. "Hey, where's Shiro-chan, by the way?"

Sasuke didn't even have the time to react to the simple question.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Two words came to Uchiha Sasuke's mind at that sound.

_OH. SHIT._

Of course, who would have thought his child had decided to crawl for the first time just the moment he'd left him alone?

He'd rushed to the hospital, a screaming Naruto in tow, only to be scolded by Shizune for being so clueless. And later, by Sakura. Oh, she had lots of things to say. The baby had merely gained a little bump on his head when he'd fallen from the bed, while his father had had the fright of his life.

---

"And that was how your irresponsible father dropped you!" Naruto was story-telling excitedly.

Shiro blinked, glancing at his squirming father, who looked the most uncomfortable he'd ever seen him. He was glaring at his uncle for the whole story, but had managed to calm the urge to behead the eager, orange-clad shinobi.

"But nothing happened to him," Sasuke argued, blushing pink (which was itself a surprising and rare thing to see). As they all entered the living room, he sauntered over to the couch, sat, and crossed his arms over his chest, as was the usual. Grunting, he added, "He was perfectly fine, anyways."

"Surely, because he is Sakura's son," Naruto grinned, throwing a victory sign at the kid that was looking up at both of them and following the exchange with curious eyes. "And because his fabulous uncle Naruto was there to take care of him!"

Sasuke seemed exasperated, turning to Naruto with a full-blown death glare. "If you hadn't showed up, I wouldn't have been distracted at all!"

Naruto proceeded to, very maturely, one shall point out, stick his tongue out at the fuming man, who in return looked away and proceeded to ignore him. Shiro laughed, for only his uncle Naruto could be so funny and make his dad squirm like this.

* * *

_**Four years later…**_

The streets were bustling with life, street vendors happily offering their latest products to the passerby or already dealing some transaction. The weather was fairly nice, soft breezes ruffling the skirts of the women as they strolled with their children, in pairs, or even alone, getting their groceries or buying flowers or catching up to the latest gossip at the small, but popular café in the heart of Konoha. Men filled up the lively crowd as well: walking along with their wives, carrying the shopping bags, and looking distressed; hauling the loads into the stores; together with friends in the bars, getting an early snack; or checking out the latest gadgets at the ninja store. And there were children, running up and down the streets, playing games, buying sweets, hiding from their worried mothers.

It was pure coincidence to find himself back in Konoha this early in the afternoon. The sun was shining brightly over the village and there was still much time before night rolled in, but there also was much to do upon his return: fill reports, check into the hospital, visit the ramen stand, and get home to a moody wife... He sighed tiredly. He was happy with his wife and all, but lately she'd been so, so weird that it made him want to (secretly) sit down and cry… in a manly fashion.

Pregnancy, as he'd discovered from past experience, was never good news for a man's health, at least during said period of _one_'s wife (more so if she happened to control a technique that practically drained you out of chakra). He'd had more sleep during the last three-day mission than the week before leaving. And… Come on, how could she be so disgusted with the smell of ramen!? That was outrageous!! To him ramen was and would always be the best thing of the world!

He'd tried to sneak in an instant cup or two. That hadn't been the smartest thing, trying to fool her was useless. A kunoichi's senses were already keen, a pregnant kunoichi's senses were incredibly intensified. It certainly hadn't worked well the last time he'd tried to eat ramen at the house, hidden inside their closet.

_"Hi..wata-cham?" He babbled as he slurped a particularly long noodle. His wife looked at him with a sickened face, her nose wrinkled in revulsion. That should have been clear enough for him, but Naruto being who he was, was blissfully unaware. "What's wrong?"_

_"Naruto-kun… I told you to throw away… all the… the… ramen…" Hinata mumbled as she took two steps back and covered her mouth and nose, her other hand was carefully circling her swollen belly. "Why… Naruto-kun…?"_

_"Oh, come on…" He swallowed and pleaded his case. "Hinata-chan, it's just an itsy bitsy cup of ramen!!" he told her, pushing behind him other five cups of said ramen. "It can't hurt…"_

_Hinata shook her head visibly upset. "I only asked that of you, Naruto-kun…"_

_The dark-haired woman flinched as her husband stood up and walked over to her, knocking several pieces of clothes as he stumbled out of the enclosed space. He reeked of noodle soup, and of course her sharp eyes had not failed to notice the cups he'd previously pushed aside, it was too much for her to handle. "I h-hate you, Naruto-kun!"_

_"Uh… No, no, don't cry!" Naruto's eyes grew large as saucers, noticing the way the pregnant woman's pearly eyes began watering. A sense of panic was too overwhelming as he tried to get out of the closet and get close to the wailing woman. "HI-HINATA-CHAN!"_

So… why did he ever get her pregnant… _again_?

The answer was, of course, because there was all that about the joy of life and children and laughs and teaching them cool stuff and preserving the blood of the ancestors before him through those angelic beings. But, he thought dramatically as he walked down the relatively busy street, couldn't the baby growing inside the mommy's tummy part be as fun as the baby making part for a young father?

Despite it all, there was no way in hell he'd ever regret having Minako. She had stolen his heart the very moment she was born. For him, it was a true wonder how someone so small could have such an effect on a man. And now, there would be a second set of feet running around his dusty old house; a little boy that would play pranks on his older sister, sweet talk his mother, and make him run out of patience. And he would love him, as much as he loved Minako or Hinata.

Brushing wild strands of hair, he sighed once more and kept walking. He could afford a little time strolling around the marketplace. It was on his way to Hokage Tower, in any case, and a bit of window shopping wouldn't hurt (besides, he could probably get a gift for Hinata and earn some very needed brownie points). That was when he saw him, trudging quietly along the market streets. He couldn't avoid the wistful smile on his face as the child came nearer.

He was growing up to be like his father: tall, lean, pale, and even broody sometimes. Even those eyes, despite being a dark shade of blue, looked every bit like his; they could bore into your soul. He was easy to talk to, contrary to popular belief, but not of the kind to initiate a conversation. He was shy, you see; though people just preferred to think of him as cold and reserved like the man he resembled so much. He saw beyond that, for this was also Sakura's child. He had her wild, loving spirit and it reminded him so much of her that, at the times, he couldn't believe he was his father's son.

The kid was also one of the kindest, purest people he'd met – and he'd met lots of people to that effect. It was probably because that was how she was and how she'd taught him to be. And well, Sasuke hadn't been all that bad either. He'd called him an arrogant bastard a thousand times, with justification, but that didn't mean he didn't like him. Sasuke was his best friend, with a stick up his ass, but his friend anyway.

"Naruto-jiisan," the boy acknowledged him as they met upon the streets, a smile on his face. He didn't expect him to jump in excitement like he did when he was a toddler; at least it was more than a nod like the one he usually got from Papa Uchiha. "You are home. How was your mission?"

That brought a large grin to his face. "Hey, hey!" He beamed at him, showing him the Victory sing with two fingers. "Success, dattebayo!"

Shiro smiled back at him, eyes almost saying "As expected of Naruto-jiisan"; instead, he replied good-humoredly, "That's good, Jiisan."

"Shiro-chan, where are you going today?" He smiled, briefly catching his own reflection on the glass window of the establishment in front of him. (Were those wrinkles around his eyes!? NO WAY! Where was Tsunade-baachan when he needed her!?)

The boy scrunched up his face. "Jii-san! I told you not to call me that. I've grown up!"

He patted the young one's hair fondly. "Not enough, brat."

"I'm eight-years-old, Jiisan!" Shiro settled for a scowl and crossing his arms over his chest. It made Naruto chuckle.

"So, where are you off to now? Did Sakura-chan send you grocery shopping again?" There was unhidden mirth in his words. His nephew of some sorts hated buying the groceries (because it meant exposing himself to the crowd of fangirls that hovered over him everywhere) as much as Sasuke tending to the garden (because that meant not training and fighting cabbages instead), but still, they would both surrender to Sakura's... gentle orders more often than not.

He shook his head. "No, I'm running an errand for 'Tousan."

Naruto arched a brow, blue eyes twinkling with puzzlement. "For the teme? ...I mean, uh... your father?"

"Yes," Shiro nodded once. Then, the boy leaned in, seemingly to share a piece of secret information with his uncle. Naruto lowered down to his level and smiled conspiratorially. Shiro's voice dropped to a whisper. "He is sending me over to Ino-obaachan's to get some flowers for 'Kaachan. But he doesn't want to come himself because it might ruin the surprise."

He nodded, his eyes now sparkling with something altogether different to his previous confusion. Now there was mischief glinting in them. So Teme wanted to surprise their dearest Sakura, huh? And why did he get the idea that the fact of Sasuke of not going himself was partly due to avoid further embarrassment as it was? (For God knew how much Ino had tortured Sasuke prior to marrying Sakura, and especially when it came to wooing and romancing the pink-haired woman.) Hm, this was interesting.

"Really now, Shiro-chan?" Naruto's foxy grin spread through his face. His brain was already working quickly, scheming, scheming… Sakura would be proud.

At the nickname, Shiro scowled a bit but let it pass. The tone on his uncle's voice… Oh, he'd heard it before, and it always meant trouble. And trouble was always so much fun when it was linked to Uzumaki Naruto.

"Well, how about we do something to surprise your old man too, huh?" Naruto's eyes wrinkled around the corner once more as he offered his little accomplice a huge, foxy grin.

Who cared about reports, anyway? This was the opportunity he had been waiting for and he was going to take it. Tsunade would have to wait, for mischief was contagious, like in the old days.

---

"So, firstly, Sakura-chan is not home, right?" Naruto asked very seriously.

The boy looked up at him conspiratorially. "She's on her way to your house, Jiisan. She took Keiko-chan over there to play with Mina-chan and Hinata-obaachan."

"Hmm," the blonde man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Good, that means the teme is alone on the compound, hmm? Very well, very well." He bent to the Uchiha child's level and told him, "Now listen, Shiro-ch… Shiro, first we need to get those flowers for you Kaa-chan, you do need to keep up with the promise you made with Sasuke. Then we need to find a way to help your old man sleep a bit, eh…"

Shiro looked up at his uncle curiously.

-

"Sasucakes, we're home!" Naruto yelled as they entered together the Uchiha household. As usual, he fingered the jingling bells in the porch of the house's entrance porch. He received a grunt coming from the office.

"Tadaima, tousan," Shiro mumbled as well. He ran to find a vase in which to place the flowers his father. It was difficult since most of them were secretly kept. It was known his uncle was a menace against vases ever since that one incident in which his father had left him, as a baby, alone in bed (only to fall later) because his Naruto-jiisan had literally crashed into their house.

Naruto found his way to his friend's private office, eyes wandering around the walls decorated with old Japanese paintings. He found Sasuke immersed in reading. "Eh… what are you doing, teme?"

Sasuke looked up at him and spared him a bored glance. "None of your business," he muttered in annoyance as he went back to the scrolls in his hands.

"Ah… but if it's just paperwork!" Naruto exclaimed as he circled the dark oak desk and quickly glanced at the papers Sasuke was focusing on. He laughed merrily and slapped Sasuke's shoulder in excitement. "Tsunade-baachan surely works you out, ne?"

Sasuke let out a surprised "Oaf!" when Naruto's large hand made contact with his back. He growled and turned to glare at the blond man. "Unlike idiots like you, I prefer to do my reports thoroughly," Sasuke stated with a matter-of-fact tone, grimacing as Naruto leaned down to peer at what he was writing down. Naruto's cheek was too close for comfort.

"Well, well…" Naruto straightened up, circling the desk once more to stand in front of his desk. "Then, I guess I'll have to play with Shiro-chan instead!" he pronounced, just as the aforementioned boy entered the office.

"Jii-san!" Shiro howled in disagreement, upset at the nickname.

Sasuke grunted and looked at the two for a good second before murmuring, "Don't break anything."

"Oh, you hurt me so!" Naruto dramatized. Then his eyes narrowed as pout transformed into a grin. "Just to prove you how reliable and good friend I am, I'm gonna get you a cup of tea. Come with me, Shiro."

"Okay!" The boy immediately forgot the previous distress and beamed at his uncle. Then, as if remembering something important, he ran up to his father, who looked at him expectantly. "Tousan, I left the flowers in your room like you asked. I used mom's favorite green vase."

The older Uchiha allowed himself a small smile and tousled the black-haired child's hair. "Thank you, son. Well done."

"Bleh!" Naruto mocked. "Come on, come on, Shiro! Let's leave your grumpy dad alone."

"Weirdo," Sasuke huffed as Naruto and Shiro retired from his office and once again returned to work. He would need to be alert, however, in case anything happened. With Naruto inside the house, one could never know.

And as he went back to work, meanwhile in the kitchen, it didn't take long for Naruto to brew a simple concoction of tea. To this he added three drops from a bottle he'd brought out from his jacket.

"Just a few drops of this, we stir…" Naruto eyed the beverage up-close. He nodded when the stirring was done to his satisfaction. "There!" He turned to the awaiting child. "Now, take this cup of tea to your father and run back over, ok?"

Shiro nodded obediently. "Yes!"

-

Sasuke stared at the Oolong tea a long time after Shiro neatly placed it in front of him with a plate of crackers next to it. The tea was still steaming. He brought it close to his nose and sniffed. It didn't smell bad nor could he notice on the surface any kind of strange substance. He stared at the crackers Shiro had provided for him as well, taking one between his fingers and playing idly with it. Naruto couldn't have added anything to these, he was sure. At last, he took a bite of the salty treat and swallowed.

Nothing had happened. Good.

He glanced back at the tea. Sasuke would hate to admit it, but he was actually quite thirsty, not having something to drink for over two hours. Sighing, the brooding ninja decided he might as well try it and was surprised, then, that it actually tasted good. Surely, Naruto couldn't have tricked him this once.

It wasn't long, however when he realized how wrong he had been. Naruto had indeed helped him to sleep, just like he had promised the Uchiha's offspring.

"What the… Damn it… Naruto… just what the hell…?" His long fingers reached to his temples in an attempt to massage them lightly.

Uchiha Sasuke cursed once more as everything became unexpectedly blurry.

-

"Ehehehehehehehe…"

"Naruto-jiisan?" Shiro looked up questioningly at his uncle, who was peering into the office and looking very pleased with himself. Shiro wasn't as happy however; he was frowning with worry and regret. "What are we going to do now? Tousan is going to get very mad when he wakes up."

Naruto looked kindly at the boy, understanding his concern. "Don't worry, your Tousan will be happy because we've helped him rest," the blonde shinobi told him as he quietly closed the door of the studio. He smiled in complicity. "You know how hard it is for him to get some decent sleep."

"Oh," Shiro considered it for a moment. It was indeed true that his father had trouble to succeed falling asleep. Then again, his Naruto-jiisan would never lie to him, either. And even if his father _did_ get mad, he knew his mom would be happy to hear his insomniac father had taken a nap. That was enough for him. "Ok," he nodded as he trailed after said uncle.

"Well, kiddo, follow me. I think it's time I pass down onto you my great wisdom," he explained as they walked over to the backyard. "I'm gonna teach you the best technique ever, dattebayo!" Naruto looked very proud. "It's a jutsu that will surely impress all the boys and girls in your class. Even your teacher will be surprised that you can handle this high-class technique."

Shiro scrunched up his nose, he didn't want to upset Naruto but he told him sincerely: "But Tousan already taught me the katon jutsu…"

"No, no!" he reprimanded, cutting short the youngling's reply with flailing arms. "This is way better than throwing fireballs from your throat."

Shiro arched a brow incredulously. What was more impressive than that at his age? "Then what technique is it?"

Naruto cleaned his own throat to gain the kid's attention. "Don't worry, you'll find out shortly. Now, watch carefully; we'll be starting with the correct hand seals. You need to move your fingers like this. Got it?"

"Yes," the boy confirmed as he paid attention to his uncle's hands. His father had explained it would take a while before he could learn the Chidori… but perhaps, perhaps Naruto-jiisan was going to teach him the Rasengan already? He watched in earnest.

Naruto proceeded to show him the appropriate hand movements once again, fingers crossing like this and that, reminding him that his hands had to be moving in perfect synchronization with chakra flows as they had taught him at the Academy. Shiro repeated them, one after the other, until he'd memorized the way it was to be done (feeling strange, as he didn't remember the Rasengan using this kind of hand seals at all; so perhaps it was the shadow clone technique?).

"Ok, you've managed the seals quite well. No doubt you're my Sakura-chan's kid." Naruto nodded in excitement. His orange suit was bright in July's blaring sun. "Now, for the final touch, you need to know the name of what I am teaching you, right? This is going to be the best gift when Sasuke sees it…" Naruto told him excitedly as Shiro nodded, even when the boy was thinking that that should have been the first step. "Repeat with me: oiroke no jutsu!"

"Oiro… what?" Shiro looked at his uncle with great surprise, unable to get the name correctly. He felt a bit disappointed that it was not the Rasengan, after all. But still, if Naruto-jiisan said it was so great…

"Oiroke!" he exclaimed. "Now try it, dattebayo!"

"But, Naruto-jiisan, I've never seen this technique done before," the boy replied worriedly.

"Hmm… I guess it is better if I show you first. Watch closely and listen well," he told him. Of course, the kid had never seen his great technique in action and would need to see it at least once to know what to expect. He was going to be surprised, Naruto told himself, as he began moving his hands in a number of seals and then screamed: "OIROKE NO JUTSU."

A "poof" sound was made and Naruto was enveloped in a cloud of white smoke before Shiro's incredulous, midnight blue eyes.

"Oh," a feminine voice, sharply interjected as the puff of smoke slowly started to dissipate. "What are you guys doing?"

"Sa-Sa-Sakura-chan." Naruko was standing in Naruto's place, hands flying to cover exposed parts. There was an extremely shocked and nervous smile on the blond woman's face. "You are home early. Uh, nothing, nothing… We're just playing."

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" Shiro was looking at her, wide-eyed. He looked back at his mother and pointed at Naruto's transformed body. "'Kaachan! Uncle Naruto has boobies!"

The young mother's pink brow twitched. That couldn't be good. Her free hand was clenching into a fist.

"Kaachan! Shiro-chan said _boobies_!" The three-year-old girl holding onto her other hand exclaimed, bursting into a fit of giggles.

That was all Sakura needed. She softly but hurriedly ushered Shiro and Keiko into the house. Soon after, her fist was glowing with green energy and her eyes flashing with such anger that it made Naruto shudder.

"NARUTO…. BAKAAAA!!"

"Sakura-chaaaaaaan! I'm sorry, please, please, stoop! Ahhh!" He was running as fast as his feet let him. Sakura was just as fast, chasing him as he uselessly pleaded for his life. "Please, Sakura-chan, really! Sorry, sorry, sorry!!"

Sakura wouldn't have a word. Her fists connected a few times with Naruto's cheek and chest, but she didn't have enough. "YOU… YOU…!"

"Sakura, what's going on in here?" Sasuke interjected, still visibly sleepy and hair completely tousled.

Sasuke tried to hide a yawn that was cut short when he realized just what was happening in his backyard. His kids were sitting by his feet on the porch, swinging their little legs as they watched interestedly. Then there was his pink-haired wife chasing Naruto, looking just like a madwoman, and Naruto was running about, boobs bouncing and pigtails flying about…

"Hn…"

"SAKURA-chaaaaaaaan!" Naruto huffed, pausing to change back into his male form. Sakura conceded him the pause as she bended over to recover her breath; Naruto's moment of peace was cut short when she straightened up to look at him with that crazed glint on her eyes once more. "P-please, please, don't. I want to see my kids grow up!"

"Look, Tousan," Shiro stood up to show him, moving little fingers into the animal signs Naruto had taught him. "Naruto-jiisan is teaching me how to do the Oiroke no jutsu to impress my friends!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and stopped the child's practice, placing his hand on top. "Forget that, your mother will be sad if you use it. I'll teach you something better tomorrow," he explained to the bewildered boy, who after comprehending the last sentence simply beamed at his father. Shiro bend down to sit again with his amused sister.

Sasuke looked back at the whimpering man; he had something to say to Naruto about this too, but it could wait, Sakura was doing a fine job. "Che… That imbecile."

"Tousan! No cursing!" Shiro scolded adamantly, covering his Keiko's ears with his small hands.

Sakura paid no heed to either of them.

"NARUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

---

"Today was fun, Jiisan," the eight-year-old grinned up at him. "Let's play again soon, ok?"

"Yeah, back there at you, kiddo." Naruto grinned back, muscles aching as he tried to move his shoulder. Sakura certainly had something to say about his magnificent training. And then Sasuke had given him a piece of his mind too. He had two black eyes to prove that. "Tell your old man he should improve that left hook."

"I will, jiisan," Shiro grinned. "And tell I said 'hi' to Hinata-baachan, and Mina-chan, and the baby!"

The bright-haired man nodded. "Sure…" He waved at the child and turned around to leave.

Naruto grinned, despite the pain on his swelling face, simple days like these were what made his life so great.

But…

Oh, my… Hinata-chan was going to be really maaaaaaaad if she found out.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto-sensei. I only own the plot, if any, and Shiro (and the other kids).

**Notes:**

I'm sorry for the lateness, I haven't been writing or editing drafts in a very long time. This draft was actually begun as far as December 21st 2007.

I had much I wanted to write for this chapter and there was a mess with flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks… and you get the drill. I took a major decision in moving my opening scene after Naruto's story-telling, but I think it was for the best.

I decided that, this being more about Naruto and Shiro, it was going to be more light-hearted. I think, in this way, each chapter reflects my idea of the characters: Sasuke is angsty, Naruto funny… Sakura will probably be drama and love, with lot of self-sacrifice… sort of. Who knows?

In this story, Shiro first is 4 (one year younger than in the past chapter), then a few months old in the flashback, and finally 8 in the rest of the story. Keiko, who is Shiro's younger sister, is 3 and Naruto's first child, Minako is 4 (Naruto making a tribute to his father?); Hinata is expecting, as mentioned on the fic, and it's an unnamed boy…

Concerning the child's name… I should have thought of actually looking for name meanings BEFORE I settled on Shiro (though to be truthful, I pretty much thought... ah! This is it! And couldn't change my mind even when other names came up.) For a moment I thought Shiro could be my character's complete name. But when I did some research, it turned out that it stands for the "fourth born son". And, you see, my Shiro is certainly not the fourth. So I'm probably going to settle in Toushiro (talented and/or intelligen) or Shiroki (white).

And so, chapter two finishes. One more to go.

Thanks to everyone that has left a review, they've encouraged me to keep writing even if my mind seems to be all set on school right now. (Thank God it's over for now!). Please do so once again if you've liked this one.


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